Shadow of Darkness
Disclaimer: See chapter 1
Chapter 3 – Fool
Niut was no fool; no pet to be coddled and antagonised. She held the temper of a redhead that Amunet lacked, and perceived the world in a realistic, if pessimistic, way. There was no secret to her survival from the depths of hell, no magic spell or prayer to banish her demons. What kept her strong was the handful of philosophies she collected like stamps.
More than one had been passed down from her mother – it affected Niut to simply watch the older woman slave away to prolong Death's inevitable grasp on her children, and mourn when they died anyway. And, being the sinfully curious child she was, Niut only burdened her further by questioning what she saw even then as a needless act of foolishness.
Niut wondered what possessed her mother to give answer to her six-year-old questioning with what became her first philosophy: "Because it's easier to commit a sin than to bear a sin than to watch a sin."
Yet Niut had always held a wariness that isolated her from most people, despite the oxymoronic front she set up as a loud and open individual. She may lack tact, book-smarts and the luxury of kindness from the world, but instead she was bestowed the gifts of street-smarts, self-discipline and depth.
Prideful to a fault, Niut would not describe herself as vain but was acutely aware that her pride was the cause for her sometimes brutal self-honesty, -control, -analysis and -criticism. In truth, Niut would rather suffer physical or mental scars on her own than be humiliated before the select audience that would truly destroy her. Pride was an immense factor in her personality, and she felt no hesitation in using that to the utmost advantage.
Then again, it often led her to predictions such as this: stranded miles in the desert with no remaining food or water, and left at the mercy of the Gods that condemned her.
True to her pride, though, Niut was still walking. While many grown men of many walks of life – royalty, guards, peasants, thieves – most would have fled at the thought of walking barefoot through the fiery sea she called the desert, yet she continued undeterred.
With an almost pleasant and triumphant look on her face, Niut waded on through the endless White Sea, formed from billions and billions of tiny particles of fire that scratched and scorched her with every moment and every lack. The soles of her feet were no-doubt red and raw, and although her skin was unable to gain more colour unless blushing, Niut knew that even in the bitter night-time cold her skin would keep burning.
Niut had been walking for ten days now, and had run out of food only a few hours ago. However she trudged on without hesitation – in fact, her pace increased slightly, as her search for a miracle became more frantic.
But the sun began to slip away from her, until she was no longer able to chase it, left abandoned under a blood-red sky fading rapidly to black.
Groaning, Niut hurried on, aware that she was nearing a small time frame in which her surroundings would be cool enough for her to run without overheating. She did so while it was too hot, convincing herself she'd have time to cool down. Trying to will the feeling out of her feet, she spat out bitter curses through gritted teeth when the heat of the sand continued to stab at her, flying up until more than her feet were red and stinging.
Despite having crossed it many a time, Niut didn't know her limit. Actually, that was untrue – she knew exactly where her limit was; she just never acknowledged it enough to stop whatever she was doing. It was times like this, where her odds of survival didn't change whether she was awake or not, that she chose to press on against most forces of nature, odds and logic.
Knowing this, Niut fully expected to awaken after a long blank gap, passed out at some point during her night-time trek. However, after five solid hours of walking through the icy danger that was the desert at night, Niut realised that no such thing would happen. So she continued to walk, passing the time by individually cursing every Higher Power she could think of.
In between this, she spotted a town and veered towards it with no second thought. Her curses became mumbles, trailing behind her as heavily as she felt.
But by the time dawn broke Niut was tired, hungry and confused to say the least. Her body was beaten and burned, and yet even when she collapsed in a shaded alleyway she found she could not sleep. All that she gained was a sudden loss of breath and two painful additions to her collection of bruises.
Clawing at the wall desperately, Niut dragged herself to her feet and stumbled on in search of food and rest. She gripped at walls, ledges, rocks, anything to help steady herself.
When she finally made it to the main street – where a market would be held by now and people would be buzzing – it was barren. Niut faltered, staring at the dusty ground in stunned surprise. She fully expected to have to shove people aside to find assistance, but the thought that the village was uninhabited had never occurred to her until just then.
Stumbling on in blind hope, she was jerked sharply out of her thoughts as her foot caught on a stone. As Niut prepared for the impact, aware she no longer had the strength to stop herself falling, her eyes snapped open in shock as an arm snaked round her waist and pulled her up before she hit the ground.
Niut was lowered to the warming stone floor and turned over, to be met with eyes the colour of dried blood that demanded answers from her. Her own bright dark blue eyes flickered over the rest of him – his white hair, red robe, tanned skin – and suddenly sleep pounced on her.
"...It's you..." she rasped in disbelief, vision swimming in and out of focus as she clung to the consciousness she'd tried to be rid of mere minutes ago.
His expression turned to one of curiosity and confusion, and Niut closed her eyes and let sleep overcome her. Prideful as she was, Niut was no fool.
Okay, and there's chapter 3. Please please please review for me - I want to know what you want to happen. Chapter 4 is being written.
Sorry this chapter was so heavy, I'm intending chapter 4+ to be lighter. This is probably my most-serious plot so far, though, so bare with me. Oh yeah, and I know the ending sucked xD
Hope you enjoy it!
naioka1992